March 2025 // Emotional Intelligence

Does Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Exist? Wait… What?

Before you dismiss the idea, let’s take a closer look at the research.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is commonly treated as a well-defined, measurable construct, essential for leadership. Daniel Goleman’s popular model breaks it down into four key components:

✅ Self-awareness
✅ Self-management
✅ Social awareness
✅ Relationship management

These are trainable skills, which contribute to leadership performance and/or effectiveness.

But here’s where things get complicated.

Some highly respected researchers argue that EQ lacks scientific rigour as a standalone concept. John Antonakis and others point out several key issues:

🔬 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗽: EQ blends multiple psychological constructs, including intelligence, and personality, making it difficult to isolate and measure.
📉 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿: Studies suggest that once cognitive intelligence (IQ) and personality traits are accounted for, EQ adds little incremental value in predicting leadership performance/effectiveness.
📏 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀: Most EQ assessments rely on self-reports or subjective ratings, which are prone to social desirability bias.
💰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: EQ has been widely promoted in business and self-help circles, but some critics argue that its popularity is driven more by marketability than by robust empirical evidence.

𝗦𝗼, 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗤 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲?

Not necessarily. While the scientific measurement of EQ remains controversial, the underlying traits (self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and relationship management) are undeniably important in leadership. Emotions influence our thought processes, decision-making, motivation, relationships and more. Even if we can’t perfectly quantify EQ, the role of the associated traits in leadership is important.